JOSEPH RISES FROM OBSCURITY IN MESSAGES FROM
AMERICAN APPARITION

St. Joseph, long a hidden and under-appreciated
saint, has risen to sudden prominence by way of apparitions to Sister Mildred Mary
Neuzil -- the Ohio mystic who died last year and whose apparitions,
already partially approved, are now being set before Church officials
for further action. Among the details is the role of Joseph,
faithful husband of Mary and father on earth of the Savior Himself. On March
11, 1958, the Virgin reportedly told Sister Mildred that Joseph
was coming to speak to her because he has "an important part
to play in bringing peace to the world." When Joseph appeared, said
Sister Neuzil, hedescribed himself as the "virgin-father" whose
stain from original sin was cleansed immediately after his
conception "through the future merits of Jesus." "My heart suffered
with the hearts of Jesus and Mary," said the saint. "Mine
was a silent suffering, for it was my special vocation to hide and shield,
as long as God willed, the Virgin Mother and Son from the malice
and hatred of men. The most painful part of my sorrows was that
I knew beforehand of their passion, yet would not be there to console
them." In one vision Sister Mildred saw Joseph "suspended, as
it were, a short distance above what had the appearance of a large
globe with clouds moving about it. His head was slightly raised,
the eyes gazing upward as if in ecstasy. The hands were in a position
similar to that of the priest during the celebration of Holy Mass, only
they extended upward somewhat more." His hair seemed dark brown,
said Sister Mildred,and he had a small beard. He was clothed in a
white robe that reached to his ankles. Over this he wore
a cloak, according to a pamphlet issued by the Our Lady of America
Center in Fostoria, Ohio. If sanctioned the apparitions of Joseph
would rank among the most powerful in Church history. In recent
times he has been associated with just one major apparition, that of
Knock, Ireland, and with lesser apparitions such as one on the
side of a church in Pidkamin, Ukraine. But in those appearances he was
silent; to Sister Mildred (whose messages were granted an imprimatur)
he spoke. He came as a teacher of purity, said Sister Mildred,
and through him God had "blessed all fatherhood." "Fatherhood
is from God," Joseph said to the nun, "and it must take once
again its rightful place among men. The Holy Trinity desires thus to honor
me that in my unique fatherhood all fatherhood might be blessed."
In another visionSister Mildred, whose spiritual director was
ArchbishopPaul F. Leibold of Cincinnati, said she saw Joseph's
"pure heart"on a cross of brown color. "It appeared to me
that at the top of theheart, in the midst of the flames pouring out,
was a pure white lily," wrote the nun, who said the saint desired
a day set aside to honorhis fatherhood. "In honoring in a special way
my fatherhood, youalso honor Jesus and Mary," he told Sister Neuzil,
adding that hetoo was a "co-operator" or "co-redemptor." "The
Divine Trinity has placed into our keeping the peace of the
world." Sister Mildredsaid St. Joseph's cloak at times seemed brown,
at other times purple, with a belt and sandals that looked the
color of gold. Though hisappearance seemed quite youthful, the nun said
he gave theimpression of "great strength" and "rare maturity."
"The lines ofhis face appeared strong and purposeful, softened
somewhat by agentle serenity," said Sister Mildred in a booklet
available through the Fostoria center. "I also saw his most
pure heart at this time. Moreover, I saw the Holy Spirit in the
form of a dove hovering above his head." The nun added that two angels
were at his side, each with a small, satin-covered pillow, one
bearing a gold scepter, the other a gold crown. "Then I heard these
words: `Thus should be honored whom the King desires to honor,'"
said Sister Mildred. According to the revelations Joseph had
been given special powers of protection over the Pope and Church,
as well as individual households, and requested that his heart
be honored in a special way each first Wednesday of the month
through recitation of the Rosary's joyful mysteries and Communion.
"Let them receive Holy Communion in union with the love with
which I received the Savior for the first time and each
time I held Him in my arms,"said Joseph on March 30, 1958 -- thus setting
the stage for possible creation of a new devotion in
the same manner that Fatima began the devotion of First Saturdays.
He promised that those dedicated to this new devotion "will
be consoled by my presence at their death, and I myself
will conduct them safely into the presence of Jesus and Mary."
"Jesus and Mary desire that my pure heart, so long hidden and
unknown, be now honored in a special way," said the apparition.
"Their future suffering was ever present to me and became my daily
cross," Joseph said in October 1956. "My spiritual fatherhood
extends to all God's children, and together with my Virgin Spouse I watch
over them with great love and solicitude. Through me the
Heavenly Father has blessed all fatherhood, and through me
He continues and will continue to do so till the end of time."
A move is currently afootto establish a special devotion to the Virgin
as Our Lady of America as described in the Ohio apparitions.

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